According to a recent report from the Taiwanese media, HTC is said to be leaving behind the “mini” variant of its HTC One lineup this time around, due to a market shift toward larger-screened devices. A”mini” version of the HTC One M9 was naturally expected due to the existence of the HTC One mini and its successor, the HTC One mini 2 (which were miniature variants of the HTC One M7 and One M8, respectively)…

Dozens upon dozens of Android phones from the various OEMs have been updated to Lollipop over the last several months, but it looks like at least a couple of devices (one of which is barely a year old) won’t be getting any Material Design goodness. HTC has confirmed that both the HTC One Mini 2 and its predecessor the One Mini, won’t—at least officially—be getting the update to the latest version of Google’s mobile OS.

When a story earlier this week discovered Samsung was artificially inflating benchmark scores for its new Galaxy Note 3, many were quick to point out it wasn’t the first time Samsung had been caught engaged in such a practice. The same issue was discovered by AnandTech for the Galaxy S4 back in July, and today the site has an extensive report showing that almost every Android smartphone manufacturer is shipping devices that do the same.

As pictured in the chart above, that includes the HTC One, HTC One mini, LG G2, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and many others. In fact, the only companies that appear to not be using the method is Apple and Motorola, as well as Google with its Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 devices:

We started piecing this data together back in July, and even had conversations with both silicon vendors and OEMs about getting it to stop. With the exception of Apple and Motorola, literally every single OEM we’ve worked with ships (or has shipped) at least one device that runs this silly CPU optimization. It’s possible that older Motorola devices might’ve done the same thing, but none of the newer devices we have on hand exhibited the behavior. It’s a systemic problem that seems to have surfaced over the last two years, and one that extends far beyond Samsung… None of the Nexus do, which is understandable since the optimization isn’t a part of AOSP. This also helps explain why the Nexus 4 performed so slowly when we reviewed it – this mess was going on back then and Google didn’t partake.

As noted in the report, the gains that OEMs are experiencing from the inflated scores are probably not worth the press they’ve been receiving. AnandTech points out that most of the inflated scores provide under a 10% increase in GPU and CPU performance benchmarks: expand full story

We knew it was coming and today is finally the day that customers can get their hands on Motorola’s new Moto X flagship smartphone and the thousands of customization options offered through Moto Maker. While Moto X should be arriving on all major carriers in the US around the end of this month, the AT&T version of the device available starting today is the only one that will offer access to Moto Maker. The other carriers will be launching white and black versions of the device until Motorola’s puts an end to AT&T ‘s exclusive window sometime later this year.

Starting today, the customizable, assembled in the US version of the Moto X is available exclusively through the MotoMaker.com online tool for AT&T customers. Unfortunately online purchasing isn’t an option at this point, so you’ll have to first purchase the device through AT&T. That includes the 16GB model for $199 and the 32GB model for $249 on contract.

The Moto Maker tool is the standout feature of the Moto X, allowing users to choose from over 2000 customization options for back, front and accent colors, unique wallpapers, and engraving. Unfortunately, we found out earlier this month that engraving won’t be available initially due to some manufacturing issues.

AT&T will be the exclusive carrier for the HTC One mini handset and you’ll be able to get your hands on one August 23 for just $99.99 on contract (or $21/month using AT&T’s Next program). This is in line with Bloomberg’s original report back in June that the device would be available this month.

The device boasts many features of the original HTC one, but the smaller 4.3″ 720p display may appeal to those who want the functionality without the huge screen.

Shorter, thinner and lighter than the original HTC One, the new HTC One mini boasts a striking aluminum body with a 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 HD 720p display, a powerful Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 400 dual-core 1.4 GHz processor, and HTC’s UltraPixel Camera with backside illuminated sensor that captures 300 percent more light than traditional smartphone camera sensors, so you can take better photos in low light and bright light.

The HTC One mini packs all the great features you love about HTC One including:

HTC BlinkFeed™ puts your favorite content at the center of your mobile world, delivering social updates, news updates and photos directly to your home screen. It aggregates the freshest content, with more than 10,000 feeds served up daily from the most relevant and interesting sources. Enjoy all the information at a glance, without the need to jump between multiple applications and websites.

HTC Zoe™ brings special moments to life in three-second videos, enabling a range of advanced editing capabilities and creative flexibility. Photos, videos and Zoes can also be featured as part of automatically edited 30-second Video Highlights with pre-selected themes with music or using sound tracks from your personal music library.

HTC BoomSound™ provides dual front-facing speakers and a built-in amplifier to bring music, movies and games to life with minimal distortion, as well as the authentic sound experience you expect from built-in Beats Audio ™.

HTC has followed its disappointing Q2 results by issuing revenue and profit warnings for Q3 suggesting the company may make its first ever loss in its 16-year history.

3Q revenue is expected to be in the range of NT$50bn to NT$60bn ($1.7 to $2M)

Gross profit margin is expected to be in the range of 18% to 21%

Operating margin is expected to be in the range of 0% to -8%

The forecast revenue is below the average of 22 analysts polled by Reuters, and its projected operating margin of between 0 and -8 percent falls below most of the more pessimistic forecasts. Operating margin is essentially net profit margin before taxes, interest payments and dividends. Its operating margin for Q2 was just 1.5 percent.